Old and New
Last year I bought a new car. The old one had definitely passed its “use by” date and was beyond economical repair. While it had served me well, I was glad to see it go. I’m enjoying the new one a lot—so much that I’ve racked up over 50,000 kilometers on it already. I guess I’ll soon have to stop calling it my new car.
Most of us like to get new stuff. That’s why Christmas is such a big deal for many. New things replace old things. New things make life easier. New things allow us to explore our potential in areas of creativity and productivity. “New” has a strong appeal.
Old has appeal, too, at least for some of us. We like to look at old stuff because it triggers pleasant memories. Whenever I see a scuffler, a scythe, a drawknife or many other tools that have passed out of common use, I remember watching my dad use them. Though these things were a regular part of his life, they are not part of mine. I wouldn’t even attempt to use a scuffler (which is a kind of horse-drawn garden cultivator). I’d rent a gasoline-powered tiller instead. I’ve occasionally used a scythe to knock down a few thistles, but prefer to use a string trimmer (sometimes called a “whipper snipper”). When I need a drawknife, I use the one I inherited from my dad, though my lifestyle is such that such occasions arise only once every three to five years. Most of the time, I resort to my electric plane to do the job.
There is no doubt that new tools are easier to use than old ones and, for the most part, do as good, if not better job. So, though seeing old things gives me a warm feeling, generally speaking, I prefer new ones.
As January comes around each year, I enjoy it for two reasons. One is that it is my birthday month and I sometimes get some new stuff. The other is that January always represents a fresh start to me. It allows me to separate the events of the previous year and lump them into the category called “the past” so that I can look forward to the future with something like a clean slate. I always hope that what lies ahead in the new year will be better than what’s been left behind in the old one.
God recognizes that things don’t last forever. He doesn’t expect His blessings in the past to go unreplaced with new ones. In Leviticus 26:10, for example, he spoke of his intention to continue blessing His people and told them: “You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.” Everything old shows its age through natural deterioration, sometimes we need to clear it out to make room for what’s to come.
Jesus used a potent illustration of the time to remind people that trying to mix old and new has disastrous results. In Matthew 9:17, He said, “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” The containers which were so effective at holding last year’s blessings are not sufficient to what God intends to give us this year.
Tradition is a wonderful thing. It provokes warm memories of the past, like looking at the tools of my father’s day does for me. However, also like those tools, it isn’t the best thing for the present. New challenges, new approaches, new opportunities all call for new forms. Trying to mix old and new can easily end up with the loss of both what was good about the past and what is good about the present.
Moving effectively into the future will often, if not always, call for clearing out the old to make way for the new. This happens at many levels, the Bible’s emphasis is at the spiritual so Paul emphasized that “we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit” (Romans 7:6). God has called us from rule-keeping and people-pleasing to Spirit-living and God-pleasing. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul went so far as to say “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Some are contented with something which could better be described as “the old has been dressed up to look like it is new.”
In these opening days of a new year, let’s follow the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of men. Let’s clear out the old to make way for the new. Let’s seek new wineskins in which to receive the new blessings God desires to pour into our lives. Every one of us will need to apply this differently. Each will have to examine him or herself to find the limitations we have unconsciously put on God’s work in our lives.
Write a comment
Posts: 3
Reply #3 on : Thu January 12, 2012, 09:24:56
Posts: 3
Reply #2 on : Mon January 09, 2012, 07:54:44
Posts: 3
Reply #1 on : Thu January 06, 2011, 06:43:36